Post by MacShimidh on Dec 23, 2020 20:21:35 GMT
Of Glasgow’s seven constituencies, Glasgow South West may be the hardest to characterise as it is the most socially mixed. It is a largely working-class seat, but although it is the third-most deprived in Scotland, the endemic deprivation found in Glasgow East and Glasgow North East isn’t quite as pronounced here, and what deprivation there is often sits cheek-by-jowl with more affluent areas. It does perhaps exemplify Glasgow’s urban sprawl better than any of the other seats – bordering Renfrewshire, several areas blend into one another and it can sometimes be difficult to know whether you are still in Glasgow or have stumbled into Paisley. That said, two of Glasgow's most prominent areas are located here, so Glasgow South West is more than just an urban corridor. This seat voted in favour of Scottish independence in 2014 with a Yes vote in the low-to-mid fifties, and in 2016 it had a Remain vote of 59% - a few points lower than the Scottish national average.
One of this seat’s predecessors was the old Glasgow Govan, a seat which existed for 120 years. Govan is one of Glasgow’s best-known areas and most of it is today located in this seat (there is a smaller section within Glasgow Central). A distinct burgh from Glasgow until 1912, Govan was at one time the seventh-largest town in Scotland, and many Govanites still regard themselves as somewhat separate from the rest of the city. Like much of Glasgow, Govan is a former industrial powerhouse that has fallen on tough times since the 1960s. It was once the epicentre of Glasgow’s shipbuilding industry, and the imposing red sandstone office building of the old Fairfield Shipbuilders still stands as one of the most striking buildings in this area.
These days, however, Govan is renowned for two different structures. The first is, of course, Ibrox Stadium, home of Rangers since 1899. The second is the huge Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Although the QE has had several well-publicised teething problems since opening in 2015, it is now firmly embedded in the local area. The hospital is but one part of Govan’s regeneration, and the area has even seen some gentrification (especially along the waterfront). Furthermore, there are a surprising number of students living here – the presence of the QE will likely bolster this even further, but because of cheap housing and very good transport links to the rest of the city, Govan has been popular with students for some time. Nonetheless, it remains a fairly deprived area, with a relatively high crime rate and poor educational attainment.
Travelling south past Craigton, we come to Cardonald, the most central part of this seat. This part of the seat is probably its most socially mixed, with affluence and deprivation co-existing, sometimes one street away from each other. Cardonald itself, for instance, has seen an influx of fancy new-build houses in recent years, and Mosspark, sitting on a hill, has a higher-than-average rate of home-ownership for the city and offers a stunning view looking north to the city centre. However, the area around the two Hillington train stations is quite rough, and Penilee is a bit run-down (although beginning to undergo some regeneration). Confusingly, there are two areas known as Crookston located here, each of them located on different sides of the White Cart Water. The northern Crookston is home to some fancy traditional Glaswegian villas, whilst the southern Crookston – home to Crookston Castle, one of Glasgow’s oldest structures – feels rather suburban and is full of newer builds.
The southern Crookston is located next to Pollok, this seat’s second-most prominent area after Govan. Pollok is one of Glasgow’s “Big Four” housing estates, although it is distinct from the others in that parts of it were built before the outbreak of the Second World War. At one point, Pollok housed around 30,000 people, but today the population is much lower as a result of the demolition of the substandard housing that once predominated here. The lack of social amenities in the Big Four housing estates has been well-documented, and aside from the massive Silverburn Shopping Centre, even today there is not much else to Pollok. There are still some areas of acute deprivation here, but in general, the area has seen a pronounced improvement in living conditions in recent decades. In a political sense, the area is most notable for being the home and base of Tommy Sheridan, the socialist firebrand who was one of Scottish politics' most interesting and controversial characters of the nineties and noughties. In his prime, Sheridan was capable of taking second place and nearly 30% of the vote in Holyrood's Glasgow Pollok seat; but the last time he contested Glasgow South West, in 2010, he couldn't even garner a thousand votes and lost his deposit.
Finally, we reach this seat’s southern extremity. This part of Glasgow has had a long association with the Scottish aristocracy and is accordingly named after one of the most prominent noble families – Darnley. The lords of Darnley were at one time among the most powerful in the country and reached their apogee when one of them married Mary Queen of Scots (he was later blown up in suspicious circumstances). It is therefore surprising that the modern area of Darnley is quite deprived, and along with Househillwood, Nitshill and Priesthill, make up one of this seat’s poorest areas. But there are also some areas of affluence in this part of the constituency. Southpark Village and the wonderfully-named area of Jenny Lind (after the Swedish classical singer), have more in common with neighbouring East Renfrewshire than with much else of this seat.
Glasgow South West has had two MPs since its establishment in 2005, neither of them especially big names. Its was first held by Ian Davidson for the Labour and Co-operative Party, who had previously represented Glasgow Govan from 1992-1997, then Glasgow Pollok from 1997-2005. Davidson’s politics were rather idiosyncratic, as he was both a professed republican and a Eurosceptic. Since losing his seat in 2015 he appears to have left Glasgow and has contested several elections in his native Berwickshire. He was succeeded by Chris Stephens, a locally-popular but very low-key SNP backbencher, who sits very much on the left flank of his party.
In a party political sense, there is not much to distinguish Glasgow South West from most other seats in the region. Labour did not quite manage to regain the seat in their 2017 mini-recovery, but they only fell short by 60 votes. Going into 2019, there were rumours that the SNP were very worried that they would lose this seat. This fear ultimately proved unfounded, although it must be noted that Labour remained stronger here than in any other Glasgow seat apart from Glasgow North East. It is currently #81 on Labour’s target list, and – like everywhere else in Glasgow – they will almost certainly have to win it back to regain some credibility in Scottish politics, as well as to win a majority at the next election.
One of this seat’s predecessors was the old Glasgow Govan, a seat which existed for 120 years. Govan is one of Glasgow’s best-known areas and most of it is today located in this seat (there is a smaller section within Glasgow Central). A distinct burgh from Glasgow until 1912, Govan was at one time the seventh-largest town in Scotland, and many Govanites still regard themselves as somewhat separate from the rest of the city. Like much of Glasgow, Govan is a former industrial powerhouse that has fallen on tough times since the 1960s. It was once the epicentre of Glasgow’s shipbuilding industry, and the imposing red sandstone office building of the old Fairfield Shipbuilders still stands as one of the most striking buildings in this area.
These days, however, Govan is renowned for two different structures. The first is, of course, Ibrox Stadium, home of Rangers since 1899. The second is the huge Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Although the QE has had several well-publicised teething problems since opening in 2015, it is now firmly embedded in the local area. The hospital is but one part of Govan’s regeneration, and the area has even seen some gentrification (especially along the waterfront). Furthermore, there are a surprising number of students living here – the presence of the QE will likely bolster this even further, but because of cheap housing and very good transport links to the rest of the city, Govan has been popular with students for some time. Nonetheless, it remains a fairly deprived area, with a relatively high crime rate and poor educational attainment.
Travelling south past Craigton, we come to Cardonald, the most central part of this seat. This part of the seat is probably its most socially mixed, with affluence and deprivation co-existing, sometimes one street away from each other. Cardonald itself, for instance, has seen an influx of fancy new-build houses in recent years, and Mosspark, sitting on a hill, has a higher-than-average rate of home-ownership for the city and offers a stunning view looking north to the city centre. However, the area around the two Hillington train stations is quite rough, and Penilee is a bit run-down (although beginning to undergo some regeneration). Confusingly, there are two areas known as Crookston located here, each of them located on different sides of the White Cart Water. The northern Crookston is home to some fancy traditional Glaswegian villas, whilst the southern Crookston – home to Crookston Castle, one of Glasgow’s oldest structures – feels rather suburban and is full of newer builds.
The southern Crookston is located next to Pollok, this seat’s second-most prominent area after Govan. Pollok is one of Glasgow’s “Big Four” housing estates, although it is distinct from the others in that parts of it were built before the outbreak of the Second World War. At one point, Pollok housed around 30,000 people, but today the population is much lower as a result of the demolition of the substandard housing that once predominated here. The lack of social amenities in the Big Four housing estates has been well-documented, and aside from the massive Silverburn Shopping Centre, even today there is not much else to Pollok. There are still some areas of acute deprivation here, but in general, the area has seen a pronounced improvement in living conditions in recent decades. In a political sense, the area is most notable for being the home and base of Tommy Sheridan, the socialist firebrand who was one of Scottish politics' most interesting and controversial characters of the nineties and noughties. In his prime, Sheridan was capable of taking second place and nearly 30% of the vote in Holyrood's Glasgow Pollok seat; but the last time he contested Glasgow South West, in 2010, he couldn't even garner a thousand votes and lost his deposit.
Finally, we reach this seat’s southern extremity. This part of Glasgow has had a long association with the Scottish aristocracy and is accordingly named after one of the most prominent noble families – Darnley. The lords of Darnley were at one time among the most powerful in the country and reached their apogee when one of them married Mary Queen of Scots (he was later blown up in suspicious circumstances). It is therefore surprising that the modern area of Darnley is quite deprived, and along with Househillwood, Nitshill and Priesthill, make up one of this seat’s poorest areas. But there are also some areas of affluence in this part of the constituency. Southpark Village and the wonderfully-named area of Jenny Lind (after the Swedish classical singer), have more in common with neighbouring East Renfrewshire than with much else of this seat.
Glasgow South West has had two MPs since its establishment in 2005, neither of them especially big names. Its was first held by Ian Davidson for the Labour and Co-operative Party, who had previously represented Glasgow Govan from 1992-1997, then Glasgow Pollok from 1997-2005. Davidson’s politics were rather idiosyncratic, as he was both a professed republican and a Eurosceptic. Since losing his seat in 2015 he appears to have left Glasgow and has contested several elections in his native Berwickshire. He was succeeded by Chris Stephens, a locally-popular but very low-key SNP backbencher, who sits very much on the left flank of his party.
In a party political sense, there is not much to distinguish Glasgow South West from most other seats in the region. Labour did not quite manage to regain the seat in their 2017 mini-recovery, but they only fell short by 60 votes. Going into 2019, there were rumours that the SNP were very worried that they would lose this seat. This fear ultimately proved unfounded, although it must be noted that Labour remained stronger here than in any other Glasgow seat apart from Glasgow North East. It is currently #81 on Labour’s target list, and – like everywhere else in Glasgow – they will almost certainly have to win it back to regain some credibility in Scottish politics, as well as to win a majority at the next election.
